Eating Your Vegetables

A guest asked for one where Snow and Charming force Hanna to eat her vegetables set in season 2. This is right around the time when Snow and Emma came back from the Enchanted Forest.

Hanna just stared at the plate of food her mom placed in front of her. Hanna liked the chicken and mashed potatoes, but that broccoli…yuck!

"Oh you guys probably don't know this, but I don't eat vegetables," Hanna told her mom and dad.

"Oh, no?" Snow asked as she sat down at the table.

Hanna shook her head.

David sat on the other side of Hanna. "Well why, not?"

"Because they're gross," Hanna said matter-of-factly. "It's okay, you didn't know. I'll just eat around them this time."

Snow and Charming just gave each other a quick glance, then looked back towards Hanna. They sat quietly for awhile and ate their dinner. They watched as Hanna ate everything else on her plate, leaving her broccoli untouched.

"You know vegetables are really good for you," Snow told her.

"Yeah they have a lot of vitamins," David added.

Hanna shrugged. "Yeah, I don't care about that."

"Okay, but we do care about those things. Your dad and I want what's best for you and part of that is eating your vegetables."

Hanna just raised her eyebrows at her mom. "Well I'm not eating them."

"Hanna…"

"Dad never made me eat them while you were gone," Hanna interrupted.

Snow gave her husband a look.

"Hey don't look at me like that," David told Snow. "I was a little preoccupied with trying to keep this town from falling apart and getting you and Emma back. Granny's grilled cheese and french fries for dinner every night didn't really seem like a big deal." However, David did agree with Snow. He turned to Hanna. "Your mom is right though, kiddo. You need to start throwing some healthier food into the mix too."

"No, I'm not eating that." Hanna shoved a piece of broccoli with her fork. "It smells."

"Have you ever even tried it before?" Snow asked

"Yes I've tried it," Hanna lied.

Snow raised her eyebrows. "Hanna…"

Hanna sighed. "I've never tried it, and I don't plan on starting now."

"Fine, but if you don't eat it, then no dessert," David told her.

Hanna shrugged. "Okay, I don't care."

David looked at Snow and could tell by the look on her face she wasn't quite sure what to say next either.

"You know what?" Snow said as she stood up to clear her plate. "You can just sit here then."

"What?" Hanna was confused.

David got up to follow Snow. "What your mother said. Don't get up from that seat until the broccoli is gone." David told her firmly.

Hanna's mouth fell open as she watched her parents walk away into their bedroom. Did they really just do this? They were just going to make her sit here until she ate the mountain of broccoli that was on her plate? This was so unfair.

"David, are we doing the right thing?" Snow whispered.

David shrugged. "That's what my mom did to me when I wouldn't eat my vegetables."

"Mine too."

Snow and David sat in their room for awhile, still unsure if they were doing the right thing. They were still new to this whole parenting thing and weren't sure exactly how to get a kid to eat their vegetables.

After about 20 minutes, they got up and peeked out to see what Hanna was doing. She was still sitting in her seat, but her broccoli had not been touched.

"This is ridiculous." David walked over to Hanna. "Okay, Hanna we know you're new to this whole vegetable thing. So let's take it slow."

"Your dad is right. How about you just take four bites for us?"

Hanna thought about it. She didn't feel like sitting here all night. She wasn't sure if her parents would actually make her, but she didn't want to take the chance. "Can I have dessert if I do?"

Snow and David looked each other, then back to Hanna. "Yes you can."

"Okay…" Hanna picked up her fork and finished the four bites she promised. She wasn't going to admit it now, but broccoli wasn't actually that bad.

Snow and David gave each other a small high five. They were pretty proud of themselves. There would be many more new parenting hurdles they would be faced with in the future, but getting your kid to eat vegetables was a pretty big one, and they had cleared it without too much difficulty. At least this round. Snow wasn't sure how Hanna would react when she served peas with tomorrows dinner.